The totally off-topic thread

[Pushka]

that is all certainly true of a whole range of issues. However I have lived in Canberra for 34 years and I have never experienced the wild storms we get now. The one this afternoon was quite scary - I went out to get the washing off the line when it looked like it was starting to rain and ended up abandoning some of it and racing back inside.

Canberra windstorm fells trees, causes havoc across city; emergency services inundated - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

And that's certainly true for Adelaide. We have never been so green in January as we are now. But that doesn't make it a trend - maybe just a weird summer this year.

 

[RooFlyer]

Having spent many summers in NW Tassie I have been lucky to see 2 of the Orange Bellied parrot in the wild.

Fear not! The wind farms should take care of them.

 

[JohnK]

I could have waited another 3 years for LSL but in the end thought "stuff it". It was my second career (after a long time in education and 'retirement' from that in my 50s). I only expected to work in there for a couple of years and ended up with 7. A previous principal gave me the advice that when it wasn't fun anymore it is time to go (either to a new job if you need to or retire if you were of an age like me).

Totally understand and you probably made the right decision.

I have suffered a lot the past 8-9 years. Mainly alone and missing elderly parents. Now have wife and daughter. The long service leave will go towards my daughter's school fees as will my superannuation. Want to make sure that's taken care of before I retire.

Don't want to keep working. It's been 32 years now and I am tired. Time to enjoy the fruits of my labour.

 

[love_the_life]

Totally understand and you probably made the right decision.

I have suffered a lot the past 8-9 years. Mainly alone and missing elderly parents. Now have wife and daughter. The long service leave will go towards my daughter's school fees as will my superannuation. Want to make sure that's taken care of before I retire.

Don't want to keep working. It's been 32 years now and I am tired. Time to enjoy the fruits of my labour.

I think you are quite a bit younger than me but it is hard - you get to a stage where you wonder if you can keep going.

 

[Milboo]

You don't have to be claiming ill health to get your pro rata LSL. You can be leaving to take up family responsibilities - just not a new job.

 

[Cossie]

I could have waited another 3 years for LSL but in the end thought "stuff it". It was my second career (after a long time in education and 'retirement' from that in my 50s). I only expected to work in there for a couple of years and ended up with 7. A previous principal gave me the advice that when it wasn't fun anymore it is time to go (either to a new job if you need to or retire if you were of an age like me).

Same here, I used to love my job, but then I got outsourced, which was a purely politically driven decision, we had proved that we were more than capable and competitive with the major US based outsourcing companies though loads of computer metrics and measuring, but were told 'you will be outsourced', no further discussion.

After a spell at one of these companies I ended up at a department that has been in the news quite a lot recently. Hated it, everything bad that anyone has ever said about public servants applied to this rather large department.

Realistically this department should have been outsourced when it was fashionable to do so, but I'm guessing they had more clout than the organisation that I was working for did.

It was so different to the statutory authority where I previously worked, there, if you didn't pull your weight, or if you weren't up to the task, you were moved on.

Going to a meeting at 'F' block in tuggers, meant I'm off to the club, the office complex consisted of 5 blocks, A to E. Working nightshift we started at 1900 until 0700, we used to have people go for a 'meeting' in the evening for a few hours, then come back and sleep at their desks. Anyone that knows tuggers will know what I'm refering to.

So I retired earlier than I wanted to, but I really don't have any regrets, but I'm lucky the 'boss' also loves her job and is quite happy to keep working, albeit as a casual, if she doesn't want to work, no problem!

 

[anat0l]

Tough choice... got about four weeks holiday at the end of the year (a.k.a. the busiest time of year). Thinking of a grand-ish trip (the alternative of course is do nothing... and save money and points).

Which would you choose: Canada (Vancouver & Montreal); or Helsinki and St Petersburg (and possibly Stockholm thrown in as well)?

First option is a bit of a tough one due to trying to find award flights (i.e. almost none). The latter option is cool but likely more expensive; people may also have strong opinions about visiting these regions during their winter.

 

[Pushka]

I'm doing a Baltic cruise in July and 2 nights in StPB, 3 nights in Stockholm and Helsinki - plus Copenhagen, Tallin, Oslo and Amsterdam. Very much looking forward to it. Will be summer though. Managed to get award flights through Qantas and Qatar to Stockholm. Just got to get home now.

 

[Cossie]

that is all certainly true of a whole range of issues. However I have lived in Canberra for 34 years and I have never experienced the wild storms we get now. The one this afternoon was quite scary - I went out to get the washing off the line when it looked like it was starting to rain and ended up abandoning some of it and racing back inside.

Canberra windstorm fells trees, causes havoc across city; emergency services inundated - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

We must have been on the edge, there was quite a bit wind and a little rain, but not much else, I must get up on the roof and clean the gutters before a hail storm hits like last year when we had a water ingress that was a pain in the... Anyone know of a gutter protection system that actually works?

Interestingly enough we had a power outage this morning, about 11am, nothing untoward was happening at that time, by the time I found the actew numberto give them a call, the power was back on.

 

[amaroo]

I commenced full-time work at the age of 15. Proud to say I've never come within a bull's roar of claiming this LSL lurk...

Long service leave was introduced in Australia in the 1860s. The idea was to allow civil servants the opportunity to sail home to England after 10 years’ service in ‘the colonies’. It was 13 weeks for every ten years of service, composed of five weeks to sail back to England, three weeks of leave and five weeks to sail back.

 

[amaroo]

How many remember when this fellow was in the running for the QF CEO role?

Primary Health Care chief executive Peter Gregg resigns

Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg resigns

 

[Cossie]

I'm doing a Baltic cruise in July and 2 nights in StPB, 3 nights in Stockholm and Helsinki - plus Copenhagen, Tallin, Oslo and Amsterdam. Very much looking forward to it. Will be summer though. Managed to get award flights through Qantas and Qatar to Stockholm. Just got to get home now.

imo Finnair!

 

[JessicaTam]

As mentioned here previously I had my passport interview last Friday. Today it was delivered.

Now I have a new number to remember. Still, not long until I get the first stamp in it.

Make it a good one. As of 1 Jan this year, no more stamps departing OZ.

 

[JessicaTam]

Tough choice... got about four weeks holiday at the end of the year (a.k.a. the busiest time of year). Thinking of a grand-ish trip (the alternative of course is do nothing... and save money and points).

Which would you choose: Canada (Vancouver & Montreal); or Helsinki and St Petersburg (and possibly Stockholm thrown in as well)?

First option is a bit of a tough one due to trying to find award flights (i.e. almost none). The latter option is cool but likely more expensive; people may also have strong opinions about visiting these regions during their winter.

I am planning to head to Scandinavia at the end of the year. So now your choice is based on whether you want to avoid me or meet up!

 

[TheRealTMA]

Make it a good one. As of 1 Jan this year, no more stamps departing OZ.

Machines are taking over the world!

 

[Cossie]

Oh dear, where to start? Most of the jobs I've had over the years have had nothing in the way of extras, including any benefits for long service and the like, except for the last few years of my employment.

When I was working in the eighties and did a lot of travelling, 6 months on, 6 months off, I was paid a flat rate per hour, no work, no pay. Was I happy, sh** yeah, I managed to see a lot of the world that most can only dream of. 100 hours per week at a fixed rate was still a lot of money! Being sick, or having days off, never even entered into the equation, you were there to do a job, period, no work, no pay.

At the time it was great, I was young and indestructable, but I realised I didn't want to be doing that sort of work when I was in my late thirties.

Back in Australia I did odds and sods (you really don't want to know) until I found a job I liked and actually was very good at, see previous post.

Just because the conditions of the job I found and was really good at, included long service leave, sick leave, leave loadings and the like, makes it no less than a job than whatever you have done, or however you have made your income.

If you want to work for what ever conditions you decide on (as I did, see above), good for you, but it isn't our fault you haven't taken taken full use of all the benefits available to you.

Even so, what ever you have done, or haven't, or what ever you have taken advantage of, or haven't, doesn't make you any better than the rest of us, regardless of however much you may like to think it does.

Case in point, lots of people get rebates from solar power, not everyone finds the need to brag nor gloat about it.

You must think you are the only person to have used the system to your advantage, trust me, you aren't the first, nor will you be the last.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We must have been on the edge, there was quite a bit wind and a little rain, but not much else, I must get up on the roof and clean the gutters before a hail storm hits like last year when we had a water ingress that was a pain in the... Anyone know of a gutter protection system that actually works?

Interestingly enough we had a power outage this morning, about 11am, nothing untoward was happening at that time, by the time I found the actew numberto give them a call, the power was back on.

i know ACTEW had some planned outages this morning - maybe it caused some unplanned ones as well.

 

[Flying mermaid]

And that's certainly true for Adelaide. We have never been so green in January as we are now. But that doesn't make it a trend - maybe just a weird summer this year.

i would say the storms have been over the last 3 to 4 years and increasing in ferocity.

It is also so much warmer. I always used to turn my heaters on and off until Christmas, but now they get turned off in late September and I just don't turn them on again. Of course that could be age related as well. Maybe I have finally got used to the cold here.

 

[amaroo]

Tough choice... got about four weeks holiday at the end of the year (a.k.a. the busiest time of year). Thinking of a grand-ish trip (the alternative of course is do nothing... and save money and points).

Which would you choose: Canada (Vancouver & Montreal); or Helsinki and St Petersburg (and possibly Stockholm thrown in as well)?

First option is a bit of a tough one due to trying to find award flights (i.e. almost none). The latter option is cool but likely more expensive; people may also have strong opinions about visiting these regions during their winter.

They are all good destinations - can't go wrong whichever way you go. My pick would be Montreal + wherever else you end up going.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I commenced full-time work at the age of 15. Proud to say I've never come within a bull's roar of claiming this LSL lurk...

as an employer I quite liked LSL - it definitely provided a carrot to staff to want to stay with you. I also found it useful for my female staff, as once they had achieved it, then they had extra holidays they could use for covering school holidays which made them even more keen to stay. Yes it was a cost to the business, but it had benefits as well.